An extraordinary way to visit the Cinque Terre and the Gulf of La Spezia!
Enjoy a relaxing boat trip and discover the hidden beauties of Cinque Terre and the Gulf of La Spezia while cruising along the terrific coastline of the National Park aboard one of our premium quality boats.
Explore Cinque Terre like a local with your knowledgeable private Tour Guide.
Lunch/appetizer/ wine tasting/ beverages are included during the boat trip.
Walking Tours Saison in 5 Terre is not over yet!
Starting from December book your half-day itinerary to discover a village of the 5 Terre. At the end of the tour there will be a relaxing stop in a local wine shop, with a tasting of local wines.
AIS Sommeliers will share with you the wonder of flavors, aromas and traditions of the Cinque Terre Wines.
(E.Hemingway)
The Gulf of La Spezia can be considered perhaps the only one within Europe with the highest military structures, meaning by this term a series of fortifications (batteries, forts, towers) built to defend a first military arsenal.
Already Napoleon in 1808 with his decree put pen to paper which fortifications should be built in order to defend his arsenal and where: a first fort at Castellana, one at Muzzerone, some on the Palmaria island and Tino island, in Maralunga, while other fortifications, already existing in the gulf, should have been reinforced.
The Napoleonic ideas were taken up and implemented by Cavour, starting from 1857. When in 1860 La Spezia was indicated as the ideal site for the construction of the current arsenal, the bilding of the first forts and the first batteries began.
Map of the main batteries / fortifications in the Gulf of La Spezia
A postcard from the early 1900s and a blast from the past!
At the beginning of the ‘900 the life in Levanto was quiet, with no industries, with a mainly local trade and with an agriculture not susceptible to major changes. However, the construction of the new railway section Genoa – La Spezia (1872-1873) and the consequent arrival of the first tourists, gave a new impetus to the emerging economy. Construction became more beautiful, more rational; streets and squares, new palaces and new buildings took the place of old houses to accommodate families who became wealthy or rich and the villas of the “foreign tourists” arose numerously.
The first bathing establishments equipped with sanitary equipment were born, with a vast solarium and beaches of fine sand. In the early 1900s there were the Sirio, Eden and Vallesanta Baths. The Bagni Eden in the first post-war period were rebuilt in rationalist style with a seawater pool. The Casino of Levanto was actually a gaming hall and exerted a strong appeal especially towards an “aristocratic” tourism.
The villas built along the “Passeggiata della Pietra” are the tangible example of elite tourism that visited often Levanto in those years. The monumental complex of the Agnelli Family, with an immense park, swimming pool and tennis courts, built by the founder of Fiat at the foot of the promontory of Punta Mesco is the image of this development that the town had. Summer evenings came alive at the Casino’s gaming tables and parties were never lacking in its large ballroom. During the day, however, at the edge of the pool, with trampoline and platform, the most prominent families bathed and sunbathed. Still in the 60s artists and songwriters of international fame performed there, such as Mina, Ornella Vanoni and Gino Paoli, Casino manager at the time.
